Dental Implants

The Wonders of Dental Implants

Dental implants are also known as root-form endosseous implants, and are similar in appearance and function to normal teeth as they have a natural looking tooth, attached to a titanium "root" or screw which is implanted into the bone for support. The bone fuses with the implant root, giving stability and the feel of a normal tooth.

There are many obvious advantages to having dental implants, like the vastly improved appearance of the mouth as a whole. Dental implants replace a missing tooth with a realistic, natural looking tooth that blends in with the rest of the natural teeth, and therefore it is very hard for people to notice that there is a missing tooth at all. This is a major reason why so many patients prefer dental implants. As it is also permanently "implanted" into the jaw bone, it acts like a natural tooth as well, and can be cared for as such, almost to the point where patients forget that it isn't a real tooth! Dental implants do not need the support of neighboring teeth because they are implanted, which means less dental work to prepare neighboring teeth for a bridge . Not only this, but dental implants help restore natural teeth function such as improved pronunciation (speech) and mastication (chewing) where missing teeth would otherwise affect those functions.

However, dental implants may seem wondrous, but alas, they are not for everyone. Patients must have sufficient bone mass in their jaw bone to support dental implants. In some cases where recommended by your local dentist, patients may be referred for bone grafting, a process which takes bone from the patient from another body location, or from a donor, and "grafts" it to the jaw bone to attain the bone mass needed for certain dental procedures. See bone grafting for more information.

Procedure for Dental Implants

When going for a dental implant procedure, it's important to know what to expect. Usually a dental implant needs to be done by an experienced dentist. The patient will be given anesthesia to the area, and surrounding area to numb any pain or discomfiture caused by the drilling of a small hole through spot in the gum where the tooth is missing, to create a small hole in the jaw for the artificial "root" or screw of the implant to be inserted. The titanium screw is secured in the hole in the jaw and gum tissue is replaced around it to aid the healing process and bone integration. The screw is left in without the tooth attached for a period of time to allow it to heal and become part of the jaw (osseointegration). After the screw has been successfully integrated into the jaw and is deemed secure enough to support a tooth, a crown (prosthetic tooth) is attached to the screw, and the implant is complete.

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